Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 26365 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 132(@200wpm)___ 105(@250wpm)___ 88(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 26365 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 132(@200wpm)___ 105(@250wpm)___ 88(@300wpm)
I’m going over it all and am so distracted that I bump into that girl with the black dress.
“Oh, sorry!” I say. I accidentally spilled a drop of champagne on her.
She stares up at me under her long fake eyelashes. “This is a twenty thousand dollar dress. You ruined it.”
“There’s two drops on it,” I say, laughing uncomfortably because I’m not sure if she’s joking or not. “I’m sure it will be fine when it dries in thirty seconds.”
She crosses her arms and glares at me. “You have to replace it.”
My face drops. “You’re serious?”
“Yes.”
“If you think I’m giving you twenty grand, you’re insane.”
“Fine. Sixteen thousand.”
I laugh. This chick is trying to extort me.
I guess I had it coming, hanging out in a play like this. It’s full of money-hungry vultures and show-offs.
This is not being focused. This is not remembering where I came from.
“Here,” I say as I hand her my glass of champagne.
“What’s this?” she asks as she takes it.
“That glass is worth about twelve hundred dollars,” I say as I back away. “We’re even. Just don’t be around when the bill comes.”
I leave before she can say another word.
I’m full of energy as I leave this stupid club. I’m no longer going to fall for these small vices. I want to be great. I want to be something in this league. I want to be remembered.
And I’m not going to get there by wasting my time with those people in there.
I hop in a taxi and tell the driver to take me to the Hyenas training facility. Maybe if I had put in some extra time, I would have made that shot tonight. Maybe I wouldn’t have had to pass the shot off to Harris.
That’s not going to happen again. I vow it to myself.
I text Nolan that I had to leave and then like fate is steering me on, I find a business card between the seats.
Norah Ellison Reality.
Let me help you find your dream home.
Her face is covered by the huge blue moustache and bushy eyebrows someone scratched on with a pen.
This can’t be a coincidence. Right?
I’m going to call her first thing tomorrow morning.
I arrive at the training facility and suit up in the locker room. This place is amazing and it’s open 24/7 to the players. We have a sauna, the best gym I’ve ever seen, and three skating rinks. I strap up my skates and head to the main one.
Harris is already out there practicing his slap shot.
“Shit,” I whisper, backing away. What’s he doing here? It’s after midnight.
“Gambill,” he calls out when he spots me. “Come on over.”
I take a deep breath and skate over.
“I thought you were out with the boys,” he says as he lines up some pucks.
“I was,” I tell him. “But missing that shot was eating at me.”
He smiles and nods like he knows exactly what I’m talking about.
This is the kind of dedication I’m missing. The kind of focus I need. This man has had an amazing career and probably only has a few dozen games before he retires and he’s still out here past midnight working on his craft.
I’ll never slack off again.
“Let’s see what you got.”
He glides out of the way, leaving me the row of pucks.
I skate up to them, take a deep breath, and let them rip one at a time.
I sink three, miss two, and hit the bar on the last one.
“You’re in your head too much,” he says as he watches me. “I see it in your eyes.”
“See what?”
“You’re overwhelmed by it all. The crowd noise, the pressure, the lights, the fame, the media, the partying. It’s taking away your edge.”
“It has been a lot.”
He sighs in understanding. “I’ve been there, kid. Being the first draft pick. It weighs on you.”
It does. I’ve felt the pressure like a weight on my chest since I signed the contract.
“How do I get past it?”
“You really want to know?”
“Yes,” I say desperately. “I really do.”
I just wait and watch as he lines up seven more pucks. He nails them, sinking each one into a different corner like clockwork.
“Get yourself a girl,” he says as he looks up at me with a grin. “Not a girl of the week. The girl. The one. Then, nothing else will matter. Not the lights or the crowd or the noise. Coming home to her will be the only thing that matters and everything else will just kind of fade away.”
I sigh as he skates over to collect the pucks.
That’s great advice and all, but where the hell is this magical girl?
It’s not like she’s just going to drop into my lap.
I sigh as I skate over to collect the pucks, feeling more hopeless than ever.
CHAPTER THREE
Norah
It’s like the end of an era.
After tonight, I’ll be the last of the original crew. Five years ago, I got a job at a new pub opening up and I’ve been here ever since.